Intimacy or Responsibility
by Cosseting-the-Cold
Summary: Alfred is the prince of Spades, and is soon to turn thirteen. When a fateful age-old tradition of the royal family chooses a young slave-boy named Arthur, he is thrown into the craziness of the castle and is burdened by his unchangeable fate of being his highness's knight forever. What sort of trouble will Alfred pull his knight into? Rated T for possible blood or smut later on.


**The**** small, elated American** sat in the lush, green grass, giggling to himself as he played around with said grass and those pesky loose threads on his clothes. His short, golden hair blew gently in the cold breeze, pushing it back out of his face. Alfred pulled out a wad of dirt and wet grass, and let it all fall through his open fingers. He liked watching all the small dirt specs fall back down to the ground as he moved his filthy hands around, just to make that all happen. He giggled to himself and said "Haha! Grass! Why are you sticking to my hands? Do you love me?" Alfred stared at the grass sticking to his hands, a big smile on his face. "Oh? Do you?" he responded, like the earth in his palms was speaking back to him. "Well, I love you too!"

_..-0-.._

Arthur let out an exasperated sigh as he reached up and clipped a piece of wet clothing to a drawing line. The bright mid-day sun was shining high overhead, casting a small shadow that mimicked the Brit's every movement. He bent down to grab another wet article of clothing from the bucket before stopping and noticing the dark figure.

"...?" He tilted his head to the side, and the shadow did the same. Arthur's bright green eyes flickered curiously as he tilted his head the other direction, and the figure copied him as before.

"Strange..." He muttered as he lifted a hand in the air and twirled it about, and so did the shadow. He lifted his left leg, as did the silhouette. He let out a small chuckle as he attempted to keep his balance.

"ARTHUR. GET YOUR ASS BACK TO WORK!" A man angrily shouted, causing the young child to fall back into the bucket of wet clothes. The man, standing in the door with a smoking cigar sticking out from his lips made a smug scoff before heading back inside. Arthur frowned and stood up, his butt wet. Oh how he hated that man.

_..-0-.._

The king was out looking for his son, Alfred. Where was that child? He always seemed to be running off somewhere. He finally found Alfred playing behind some bushes.

"Alfred, stop playing in that dirt and come inside for a moment. I need to have a word with you."

_..-0-.._

Meanwhile, Arthur was still hanging up clothes in the sunlight, quickly trying to finish the job before the sun set. He glanced down to see that the bucket was empty. With a small sigh eh picked it up and ventured back into the house to get the next load. Arthur noticed the man, what had yelled at him earlier; was discussing something with some people. He dismissed it, seeing as it probably was just a deal about prostitutes like he usually does. Hold on a second. Arthur stopped in his tracks to observe the people more closely. the two people he had mistaken for commoners where royal guards. He hid behind the corner and stared.

"The boy? You mean that little piece of sh- what? A birthmark? Yeah, it's pretty weird. In the shape of a spade. Yeah, I bought 'em a while back for a few bucks..."

Arthur blinked a small spark of fear lighting within him. They were obviously talking about him. The man turned around and yelled at him.

"Get your ass back to work!"

At this, Arthur bolted out of the house, spilling a few wet clothes as he ran.

_..-0-.._

The young boy giggled as he threw the dirt up into the air, getting it all in his hair, on his clothes, and on the shining glass of his glasses. He rolled around, getting his nice clothes all dirty. Not like he really cared; he just wanted to have fun just like every other child does! But, that was when his father, the king, decided to call for him. Alfred stopped everything, sat up, and looked around for whom called his name. "..?" he listened to the rest of the sentence, blinking in curiosity. "Yes, father! I'll be right there!" the American called back, quickly standing and beginning to run back towards his home. As he ran, some of the dirt flew off of his body and was left behind, back on the ground. Once he was back, he went over to the king with a smile. "What do you need?" Alfred asked, sounding pretty curious about what his father had to say.

The King turned around to look down at his son. He made a slightly disgusted face and snapped his fingers.

"Maids, clean him up." he commanded, and a handful of maids scrambled over to Alfred's side to help cleanse him.

"Now, Alfred. As you know, you are almost thirteen. And you know what that means don't you?" He said with a small smile as he saw that the young boy was now dirt-free.

_..-0-.._

Arthur's bright green eyes glanced around cautiously as he finished pinning up the last of the clothes to dry. He knew the men where talking of him, but what on earth could the royal guards want with him? He was just a slave, a commoner. And he certainly never stole like most of the poor commoners did. He then picked up the two buckets that had once held the wet clothes and looked to the sky. It was getting about dinner time now. Oh what was he talking about, he never got dinner. It was hard to clean every room and do everyone's laundry in a hotel, and never get paid or fed. Why couldn't the owner (his master) hire some employees to do such things? Never the less he had to head back inside for some more chores. Arthur sighed as he slowly started to walk back towards the house and observed the view of the fields. That's when a sharp snap got his attention. He whipped his head around quickly, ready for someone to attack, but the only thing there were the vast fields. He sighed and continued walking.

Snap.

There it was again, trying to stifle him up. He ignored it entirely, assuming it was just his imagination. But there it was again, and again. The soft snapping of twigs and leaves seemed to he happening in a steady beat, as if someone's foots steps where inching closer.

Closer and closer with each second.

Someone's foots steps….a kidnapper…or a murderer…or a thief.

Fear was slowly building up inside Arthur as he steadily walked on, as if he didn't hear it at all. What was it what was it?! His shoulders stiffened and he slowly went to a stop, as did the noise that was following him. Arthur whipped his head around and shouted:

"Leave me alo-" He was cut off when something grabbed his throat and cloth covered his mouth. A strong smell of chloroform entered his mouth and nose as he kicked violently, desperate to rid himself of the hands that where trying to hold him still. Little by little, his vision started to blur and his kicking decreased before he finally passed out. He was at the mercy of whomever or whatever was dragging him towards the castle.

_..-0-.._

Alfred was kind of confused at his father's confusing face, but when the maids came hurrying towards him, he just sighed and stood still to let them clean him up. He hated it when the maids came to clean up his clothes and all that. Alfred felt like he could do all of that himself! He didn't need maids or anything! Plus, he liked it when he wasn't as clean as a white glove. He frowned and stared up at his father, crossing his arms. "Yeeeah, I know." he nodded, knowing his own age pretty well. "I would rather stay twelve forever, though! It means I'm farther away from being as old as you!" the young boy laughed, uncrossing his small arms. "But…What's so special about turning thirteen, father?"

His father knelt down to Alfred's height and ruffled his hair gently.

"Being thirteen, my boy, is a very important year for you." He explained calmly, "Once you become thirteen, you are allowed to travel the world in search of a bride or find the kingdom many great treasures. But many of those journeys will be dangerous, and you may be in need of help. So with each thirteenth year of a prince, the kingdom of Spades bestows to said prince an Ade. They are to protect you from any danger whatsoever and obey your beck and call." He said before standing up. "They are picked from fate, as the tradition is, and will risk their life for yours at any given moment."

_..-0-.._

Arthur's head was aching badly as he slowly woke from his daze. He let out a small groan as he pushed himself up and observed his surroundings. He expected to be in the basement, resting on an old pile of hay after having a heatstroke or something, but no. He was in a nice room, though not too fancy; that was decorated with blue furniture and such. He slowly crawled out from the bed in which he was tucked into and snuck quietly over to the large window that was hidden by a thick scarlet blue curtain. He ran his pale hands over the soft material, rubbing his fingers against it. It must be made of silk, Arthur thought calmly. He had never felt silk before, and damn did it feel soft! He stared down at it quietly before face planting into the curtains. Oh how soft it was! He let out a small chuckle as he glanced out the window. Behind the glass was a vast view of the entire kingdom, and it showed all the peasants working their daily lives. He blinked, glancing about the room and wondering where on earth he was. Arthur looked back to the curtain, which had spade patterns sewn into it. His eyes widened. Was he in the Royal castle?

_..-0-.._

The American tilted his head. "A knight?" he just giggled a bit. "Cool! I'll finally get to go out exploring!" this young man just loved exploration, adventures…well, anything that involves getting dirty and not from where he's from. "So…this knight guy is gonna protect me? When will I get him? And, and... What's his name?" Alfred questioned, so curious and so full of related questions. He wanted to know pretty much everything. "What will he look like?" he continued to ask. So many thoughts were running through his head, imagining what his knight might be like, and thinking of all the things he could do with him around. "I can't wait!" he jumped excitedly, smiling.

The king smiled and patted his head. "You will meet him this evening during dinner. But until then I want you to stay in your quarters and get ready for tonight." He said with a small chuckle before turning. "But for now I must go and finish a few things. I will see you at dinner." He said before leaving, a few servants quickly following behind him. "

_..-0-.._

Arthur looked around nervously. Why on earth was he in the castle?! He began pacing back and forth as he thought about all the possible reasons why he was here. Could he be accused of something? No, if they assumed he was a criminal they would have put him in the dungeon. Did he have something they wanted? Could he have been chosen to be another maid or servant because they needed more? That was when a maid quietly opened the door, holding some folded clothes.

"Mister Kirkland…? T-The king has requested that you wear an attire of his choosing…" She said calmly, holding out the folded clothes. Arthur stared at her curiously before he walked over to her and slowly grabbed the set of clothes. Mister Kirkland..? He had never been called that before.

"Y-You mean…I-I get to actually wear these?" Arthur said with a blink as he stared down at the clothes. The maid raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Y-Yes sir, you wouldn't want to be seen in the palace wearing that, would you?" She said, motioning to the dirty rags that the Brit was wearing. He blushed and nodded as he replied:

"O-Of course, thank you so much…"

The maid simply nodded.

"Those are just my orders Mister Kirkland. Now the King also says that you are to be bathed before dinner, and until then you are allowed to venture around the castle as you please. But you are not allowed to be in the east wing, where the Prince is. You must stay from his highness's sight."

"O-Okay…" Arthur blinked in confusion but thought it was best to not ask why. The maid then bowed and left, closing the door quietly.

Arthur stood there in front of the door, clothes in hand, without moving. He was thinking hard, thinking about what on earth was going on! He didn't seem to be in any trouble, but he wasn't sure. He was so lost.

_..-0-.._

Alfred nodded. "Okay!" he said as he ran off to his quarters. His shoes made a small "click clack" as he ran, the echoing sounds fading as he drew farther and farther away from the main hall, where him and his father were talking. Once he was up in his room, he closed the door and plopped down onto his bed with a small smile. Ah, how excited he was. He just couldn't wait to go on all of those adventures he had planned out.

It was soon drawing close to dinner time, and he still had not picked out anything to wear. Alfred sprung up out of his bed, after seeing the time, and hopped to his closet. He opened up the doors and looked inside, picking his outfit from a wide variety of clothing. All he chose was his usual clothing, the ones he always wore on special occasions; nothing much. He wasn't very fond of fashion and designing, anyways.

Alfred slipped his clothes on and looked at the clock. 'Only two more minutes! I'd better hurry downstairs!' he thought to himself after noticing what time it was. At that, he hurried down to the dining room and took a seat in the chair next to his father. You could tell by the shining grin on his face he was excited to see this knight of his.

_..-0-.._

Arthur had been stripped and cleaned by the maids a few hours earlier, despite his protests that he could clean himself. The maids scrubbed and scrubbed his birthmark, and had some important people come in and make sure it was authentic, much to Arthur's embarrassment. Once he was fully cleaned and proclaimed '_the real thing'_, he was able to get dressed and venture around the castle before dinner. He sighed as he fiddled around with his new attire, which wasn't really his style. He was wearing a fine blue tailcoat, which was decorated with shiny golden buttons that where engraved with little spades. "_How cute_…" Thought Arthur as he looked down at himself. Accompanying the tailcoat was a small cravat, waist coat, gloves, and a pair of pantaloons. A sword was resting at his side, firmly locked within its case. Arthur then looked up and observed the hallway, with its high ceiling and pristine white trim, followed by the light blue walls and shiny marble floor. The Brit bent down and observed his appearance in the marble. Oh god he felt so out of place, he wanted to rip off these tight clothes and run back to the fields. Back to the swaying grass and wide skies, where he felt at home, where he felt safe. If it wasn't for the fact that the maid told him otherwise, and that his master would probably be waiting for him back out there. He sighed, his emerald green eyes lowering with confusion as he stared down at himself. What was he doing here? In the castle, the home of the royals. A poor slave staying here? Oh how he felt so misplaced.

"..W-Who are you…?" A soft voice asked him, causing Arthur to jump up in surprise and whip his head around. Standing trembling behind him was a young boy, about the age of 7; with wide violet eyes. His wavy blond hair had been pulled back into a small pony tail with a blue ribbon. Held within his arms was a big stuffed bear, meant to resemble a polar bear.

"I-I'm Arthur…Who are you?" Arthur replied with a curious look.

The young boy sniffled and started to cry. Arthur stiffened and knelt to him in a panic. "Ah- it's okay now! D-Don't cry…"

"Matthew? Dear, where did you run off to?" a soft female voice asked as a beautiful lady popped out from behind a corner. Arthur glanced up and it only took him a second to realize who she was. He bolted upwards and stuttered out nervously:

"Y-You're t-the..."

"The queen, yes." She said with a soft chuckle, a sweet smile on her face which made Arthur relax slightly. She then bent down to Matthew who was crawling over to her, his face stained with tears.

"Oh dear, what happened?" She asked as he picked him up and whipped away his tears. Arthur stiffened yet again.

"I-I just asked him who he was and … h-he started crying." Arthur explained nervously.

The Queen nodded and cradled the young boy who smiled softly and hugged her.

"Matthew gets rather upset when people forget him. I'm sorry if he caused any trouble."

"O-Oh no ma'am- I mean your majesty. I-I should be apologizing to you. And you, of course." Arthur said with a small smile to Matthew who smiled back to him and reached out his hands. Arthur chuckled soft and said:

"Heh, I'm sorry your highness, I will not forget you again..."

"You promise?" Matthew said with a small pout. Arthur chuckled again and nodded.

"I promise."

The Queen smiled softly and observed Arthur closely.

"So I believe you are Alfred's new Ade?" She asked.

Arthur blinked in confusion. "Ade?"

"Oh my, did the maids not tell you? Well, I suppose I should explain everything for you." The Queen said and explained his duties and such.

"Most commoners would call you 'The Prince's Royal Knight', but in here in the castle we will refer to you as his Ade." She said with a small smile. Arthur nodded, not as confused as before but still filled with questions.

"Thank you for explaining, your majesty. I-I was so confused." Arthur replied as he rubbed the back of his head.

"It is quite alright dear~ But you are not yet his Knight. You will officially become his Protector at his thirteenth birthday celebration. But you will be joining us for dinner, yes?"

Arthur quickly nodded and said politely:

"O-Oh yes, indeed. I would be honored, your majesty."

The Queen smiled and gave him a goodbye with Matthew before leaving Arthur alone in the hallway once again.

Once again he stared at his reflection, thinking. And probably procrastinating.

_..-0-.._

The king turned his head to look at Alfred and nod.

"You look very nice, Alfred. I'm glad to see that you hadn't gotten into any more dirt." He said with a small chuckle before glancing at the empty seat that was across from Alfred. "The maids should be bringing in your Ade soon." He said as he glanced toward the double doors at the end of the hall. "Now I want you to behave. Act like a proper prince should."

To the King's side sat the Queen, who was playing merrily with the seated Matthew beside her. "And don't forget to use the right silverware, dear." She said softly as she lent her head forward to smile at Alfred.

The maids quietly ushered Arthur down the hallway, fiddling with his clothes and fixing his hair. The Brit flushed slightly from the attention and all the poking going on with his attire, but he let them did what they wanted. They knew more about how to behave in the castle than he did. They quickly walked toward the dining room. The maids then shushed each other as they made final adjustments to the new knight before they all scurried away. He was left all alone, staring toward the door nervously. How was he to act in front of them? Nice? Proper? Smart? Or perhaps wise and tough? How does one act in front of royals…? Arthur wiped some sweat from his forehead, his nerves getting to him. Oh god he was so nervous. How was a Knight to act?

Alfred giggled a bit as he sat at the table, looking at all the entrances for when his knight comes. He couldn't wait to start those adventures. "Thanks, dad!" he nodded with a smile. "I wanna look great for my knight!" the small boy smiled over at the king before looking back at the door ways. "I promise to behave."

He heard the footsteps coming from the hall and stared at the door excitedly, not able to wait one second longer.

Arthur gulped as he heard the small footsteps of an announcer step towards the door and grasp the handle as he said:

"Announcing, Sir Kirkland, His royal highnesses to-be Knight!"

**Author's notes **

**Me and my buddy made this together~ : D**

**I hope you like it~!**


End file.
